Eric's Adventure to Peru

Eric took a trip to Peru in November. He has always wanted to climb to Machu Picchu. He has seen many of the ruins in Central America, and now, he wanted to go to South America. (I am going to try my best to blog about his experience.)

Eric went with Matthew Ragland. They both enjoy hiking and speaking Spanish, so they were perfect travel partners for this trip. They flew into Lima, Peru and took a plane to Cusco, Peru- where they started the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The hike is around 28 miles long with the highest elevation at 12,000 feet, and the hike takes 4 days. Eric and Matthew were prepared, but Eric said it still was challenging with the altitude and uphill climbs. However, everything was worth it when he reached Machu Picchu, one of the 7 wonders of the modern world. The pictures are amazing! He also video taped their climb and experience on the trail.

Their group starting the trail

Matthew and Eric were the only Americans. The other members were from Spain and Switzerland. They spoke Spanish the whole time!

Eric and Matthew taking a break from hiking

The views are amazing!

Trying to stay dry

Look at the beautiful mountains!

Almost there...

Machu Picchu

Eric and Machu Picchu in the background

He is in the clouds!

What a trip!

Rita and the heater

The weather is getting colder in the Bay Area so I brought out the space heater. I used the space heater all the time at my house in Little Rock. I love it. Well, guess who also loves it? RITA! As soon as I turn it on, she is laying in front of it. It is so funny. She can be upstairs, and if I turn on the heater, she runs and sleeps right in front of it. Sometimes I get scared she is too close and will get too hot so I turn it off. Eric never had a space heater at his house in Little Rock. This is her first time to live with one. Rita is in love with the heater. It is going to be a good fall and winter for her.

Going Home

I headed home for the first time since leaving in June for Stacy and Chad's wedding weekend. I was so excited to see all of my family and friends, but I knew it was going to be a short trip. I went shopping with Mom on Friday. I had an agenda on my food preferences since we do not have the same restaurants here in CA. We got Sonic drinks on the way to Little Rock and had lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Yum! I have been craving both of these since I moved here.

On Friday night, we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at Lulav. On Saturday, we had the bridal luncheon at Vieux Carre. It was great to hang out with Stacy on her big day. She was very calm and excited about getting married. The wedding turned out great, and the reception was a lot of fun. Stacy looked beautiful! Congrats to Stacy and Chad!

Stacy and I at the bridal luncheon

Before the wedding

Stacy with her sister, Ashley, in the bridal room

Stacy and Chad at the reception

Pharmacists and friends- Stacy, Beth and me

On Sunday, my sister had just flown in from a meeting in Indianapolis. My whole family was able to have lunch together. Also, she is newly engaged to Nathan! I was able to see her beautiful ring and hear all about the engagement. Nathan even took pictures of the engagement with the self-timer on his camera. The pictures are great! They capture the surprise on Michelle's face when he was on one knee asking for her hand in marriage at sunset on Mt. Nebo. Too sweet!

I met up with my friends in Little Rock on Sunday night for dinner. Shea, Annie, Ashley, Kandace, Amanda, and Anna were all there. Anna is home from Africa for the holidays so it was great to see her. I loved catching up on everyone's life. Cheers to good friends!

At Cantina Loredo with friends

My flight was Monday afternoon. My Dad drove me to the gas station so I could buy lottery tickets before I left. Eric and I both didn't win, but as my Dad says, "It is for a good cause." :)

Eric trying his luck at an Arkansas lottery ticket

I was sad to leave my family since it has been 5 months since I was home last. However, I will be home for Christmas in a few weeks for a short trip!

Hiking

To prepare for Eric's upcoming trip to Peru, we decided to go hiking. Eric wore all of his new gear for the trip, and I wore what I had since I do not have hiking clothes or shoes. We hiked a 4-mile trail at Castle Rock State Park. It was a beautiful hike. (It was very rocky though so I think I need hiking shoes next time we go.) The view was amazing! You can see all of the evergreen trees that extend all the way to the Pacific Ocean. There are plenty of hiking spots in Northern California just like Arkansas, and hopefully, we will get the chance to go again.

The beautiful view

At the end of the photo is the Pacific Ocean.

Eric on top of a rock

Eric and all of his new backpacking/hiking gear

Halloween

The night before Halloween Eric invited some of his co-residents over for a get-together. Here is a photo of everyone's last minute outfit. Some people were wearing my aprons from the kitchen.



Eric and I went to San Francisco for Halloween. We went to a friend of Deepak's condo in SF. The condo was amazing. It had a view of the Bay. I was a cat this year in honor of Rita, and Eric was Edward from Twilight. Deepak was Edward Scissor-Hands, but he doesn't have his hands on in this picture. I wish I would have brought my camera to the streets of SF...lots of Lady Gaga. There were some interesting costumes. We are looking forward to planning our costumes for next year.

Getting ready for Halloween

In honor of Rita (our cat), Eric and I decided to carve a pumpkin with a cat design for this Halloween. Eric traced the outline, and I carved the design. Here is the final result. Rita loved it! Happy Halloween!

Eric tracing the pumpkin

Our cat pumpkin

Rita was very curious about the "cat" pumpkin.

Stanford Football

Eric was on call this weekend for neurosurgery. (He is on call a lot). However, he decided that we could attempt to make it to the Stanford football game against Arizona State University without him getting paged to the hospital. We tailgated before the game with some other residents. It was great weather and good fun. Then, we headed to the game. The Stanford football stadium was very nice, but it was only half-full. People were handing out tickets for free because they weren't going to the game. (This is the only thing that is cheaper in CA- football tickets.) Eric and I agreed that even in the worst season of Arkansas football it would never look like this. Also, the dynamic of the game was very different. There was this "dancing tree" for the school mascot. Stanford technically does not have a mascot. They are the cardinals, but they are not the bird...rather a color. The tree represents "El Palo Alto" for the city where Stanford University resides. Overall, it was an interesting experience. Eric and I hope to go back for the Stanford vs. Notre Dame game.

Eric got a nice picture of me eating.

The Stanford Band- not really a "marching" band- I'm not sure what type of band they are.

Stanford football